How to Get Your House Ready to Sell in 10 Easy Steps

Approximately 5.1 million existing homes were sold in the United States in 2017. If you’re hoping to get your house ready to sell this year, you’re facing stiff competition.

Luckily, by learning how to get your house ready to sell, you’ll be able to present it at its best. This means it’ll appeal to more potential buyers and is likely to spend much less time on the market.

Read on to discover more about how to get a house ready to sell in 10 steps.

1. Consider Your Price

Before you begin the actual selling process, the first step is to accurately price your home. For this, it’s a good idea to talk to a listing agent. They should be experienced in the neighborhood and have sold a number of listings similar to your home.

The agent will look at comparable sales and give you a comparative market analysis. They’ll also give you their professional opinion to help you choose your listing price.

2. Think About Curb Appeal

We all know how important a first impression is. That’s why it’s a good idea to walk out onto your street and look at your house. Remove the emotion and put yourself in the shoes of someone who is looking for their own home or investment property.

What would they think as they arrive at your home? It may be a good idea to get a few friends to help with this.

Make sure your lawn is mowed, landscaping is well-groomed, and your exterior walls and driveway are clean and tidy. This will encourage potential buyers to tour the inside of your house.

3. Identify the Selling Point

In marketing, businesses have a USP or unique selling proposition. Selling your home is no different. You should know what point will make your house stand out to buyers.

This could be the reason you bought the house in the first place or something new that has recently added value to the home. What do your visitors love or comment on the most?

If you’re not sure, talk to your real estate agent. It could be bigger than other homes on your street, close to a gym, great school, or public transport.

4. Depersonalize

Prospective buyers don’t want to see your history and current life in your house. Instead, they want to be able to picture themselves and their family living there.

Before you begin showing your home, you’ll need to remove family photos, souvenirs, collectibles, and anything else that makes your house seem like your home.

Aim to keep it neutral and simple. Now’s a great time to have a clean out and get rid of any extra junk. If you have too much furniture, consider using a storage unit or asking a friend to store some of it for a while. A room crammed with furniture will often appear smaller.

5. Consider Painting

You don’t necessarily need to do a bunch of work to your home in order for it to sell. But freshly painting your home can be an easy, cheap way to make your home look new and vibrant.

Use a neutral color that will appeal to a lot of people or will at least be a blank slate for potential buyers. If your teenage daughter had her room painted bright purple, that needs to go before you list the property and take photos.

6. Clean up

The type of cleaning you’ll do when you’re listing your property will be much deeper than your typical weekly or even spring clean.

If you’re short on time or know the professionals can do a much better job, it may be worth hiring a cleaning company to come in for a thorough clean.

Here is a basic to-do list:

Wash windows (both outside and inside)

Use a pressure washer for the exterior and sidewalks

Get up high and remove any cobwebs

Re-caulk sinks, showers, and tubs

Polish mirrors and faucets

Vacuum and mop

Wax floors

Dust light fixtures, ceiling fan blades, and furniture

Air out and clean any musty areas

Remember: Potential buyers love to snoop. Be sure to clean and organize linen cupboards, storage areas, and closets as well.

7. Consider Staging

Home staging can make a massive difference to your home and can make it look warmer, brighter, and bigger. It’s adding small details and dressing your home for success.

Home stagers are artists and use a variety of items and furniture to make your home look more welcoming.

If you’re not prepared to pay for a home stager, do some research yourself. There’s plenty of advice online which can give you some great ideas.

8. Take Great Photos

Photos are crucially important when you’re planning to sell your home. You may want to get professional photos taken. If you don’t, you can still take amazing photos with a little practice.

Get your home into showroom condition with no clutter or mess. During the daytime, when you have as much light in each room as possible, take your photos.

Keep your phone or camera as level as possible. Turn it landscape to showcase the rooms and not ceilings. Get as close to the corner of each room as possible.

Edit the photos with a free editing app. Auto-adjust the contrast, brightness, vibrancy, and saturation.

9. Choose Your Agent Carefully

Before you choose your real estate agent, do some research. Look at their reputation and any testimonials or negative reviews online. Ask about their commission, and make sure you understand how their fee structure works.

While it can be tempting to try to sell your home yourself, it’s best to choose an experienced agent. The longer your home is on the market for, the lower the chance that it will sell. An agent will have a number of contacts and tips and tricks to help you sell your home.

10. Remove the Emotion

Selling your home will often tug at your heartstrings. This is particularly true if your kids have grown up in the home. However, it’s important to remember that your property is an asset, and it needs to be sold so you can move onto the next stage of your life.

Take the advice of professionals who know how to get a house ready to sell.

Do You Understand How to Get Your House Ready to Sell?

Selling your home can be stressful, but with the above tips, you’ll understand exactly how to get your house ready to sell–without all the stress.

By carefully considering first impressions and understanding what buyers are looking for, you’ll avoid having your house languish on the market.